Chris Binkert

Just the words ‘comfort food’ brings to mind delicious pleasures that can take you far away from stressful days.

Of course, presidents are just like us in that way.  Everyone has their go to ‘comfort food’, the one thing you like to eat while lowering the stresses of a busy life.  And presidents live in a pressure cooker, so the need for a favorite food can go a long way to reducing some of that massive stress.

Wouldn’t you like to know those favorite foods of our presidents?  You may be surprised, or shake your head at some of them, but there are some easy to see revelations into their personalities too.

Some of these favorites have become so well known that it’s become part of their identity. Think Ronald Reagan and his jellybeans.

One president has received credit for the creation of one of America’s all time go to comfort foods.  Thomas Jefferson spent years in France while representing our country.  He loved French foods and wines.  Once back home, he took some culinary ideas from his experiences and created what we now call Mac & Cheese!

Just thinking about a warm side of Mac & Cheese makes me hungry!

George H. W. Bush was more famous for a food he hated, than for his actual favorite.  He loved his pork rinds but very publicly hated broccoli.

Naturally, there is some regional appeal for certain foods, depending on where the man grew up. No surprise that John F. Kennedy loved New England clam chowder, or that Jimmy Carter loves grits.

Some presidents have used food as an insult while engaging in political bullying.  In 1897, Theodore Roosevelt was serving in the William McKinley administration as Assistant Secretary of the Navy.  Roosevelt was a vocal advocate of naval preparedness, most immediately for a possible war with Spain.  Mr. McKinley, a Civil War veteran, was slow to push for war.  Roosevelt famously insulted him by saying “he has no more backbone than a chocolate éclair”.  4 years later, after gaining fame in the Spanish-American War for his charge up San Juan Hill, Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency following McKinley’s assassination in Buffalo New York.

Some president’s favorites are from the sweet tooth category. Dwight Eisenhower loved fudge, James Madison preferred ice cream, and Zachary Taylor loved beignets.

Others would be considered odd by today’s standards. For example, William Henry Harrison and James Garfield both liked squirrel as a stew or soup.  Andrew Jackson loved “leather britches”, a regional name for green beans and bacon.

The idea of comfort food in more modern times may be best illustrated by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s love of grilled cheese sandwiches or Barack Obama’s preference for nachos.   FDR went further by serving hot dogs to the King of England during a state visit to Hyde Park. The president who gets the prize for most nutritious favorite is John Quincy Adams who loved fresh fruits.  And for the weirdest favorite, I must award that distinction to Richard Nixon for his cottage cheese and ketchup habit.

Finally, we cannot complete our presidential food journey without mentioning William Howard Taft. It seems we all know that Big Bill was our largest president, tipping the scale at 330 pounds during his presidency.  So, a natural question becomes: what was his go to comfort food?  He loved steak and potatoes and ate heartily.  For him, unhappy as president, eating was his way to off load stress. After his term ended, he shed over 80 pounds, serving later as Supreme Court Chief Justice in a trimmer form.

What about our current president?  Joe Biden’s favorite is pasta with red sauce, specifically angel hair pomodoro.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

The style and form of presidential travel has been discussed and debated since the nation’s founding in 1789.  George Washington was very attuned to the visual impact of the well-appointed carriage he used to get from place to place in the late 18^th century. The last half of the 19^th century saw upscale private railroad cars as the primary mode of transport for the president.

But Air Force One, the president’s private jet, took the concept of presidential travel to astounding new heights.

Let’s examine the evolution of presidential flying over the past eight decades.

The Early Years

The first president to fly while in office was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who undertook an arduous 44 hour journey to Casablanca on a military flying boat in 1943 to meet with Winston Churchill during World War II. He couldn’t travel by ship due to the risk of German submarine attack.

His successor, Harry Truman, also used a military plane, a Douglas C-54 dubbed the Sacred Cow.  Truman had a bit of prankster in him. He once took off from Washington and directed the pilot to fly over the White House.  They buzzed the home at 500 feet going 500 miles per hour!  And they made two passes!   Hard to imagine that happening today.

Later, in 1947, Truman used a faster plane he called Independence, named after his hometown in Missouri.

Dwight Eisenhower, a trained pilot himself, upgraded to a Lockheed Constellation called Columbine II, named for the state flower of Colorado where First Lady Mamie Eisenhower grew up. Ike was on Columbine II in 1954 when a potential disaster was averted.  When Eisenhower flew, the military used regular flight identification protocols. His flight was Air Force 8610.  At that same moment, another plane in the area was using Eastern 8610. The confusion could have ended in disaster.  After that flight, it was decided that anytime the president is on a flight, the call number would be Air Force One.

The Jet Age

In 1959, toward the end of Eisenhower’s second term, the Air Force acquired a Boeing 707, the first jet used in presidential travel.  It was painted with orange and black accent colors, with block letters for The United States of America.

In 1962, under new president John F. Kennedy, the first jet specifically built for the president was delivered. Kennedy was well aware of the profound impact this symbol of American power and diplomacy would have. He selected famed designer Raymond Loewy to create the now-famous blue and white livery with the presidential seal on the Boeing 707. Kennedy also specified the use of the same font scheme found in the Constitution for the words The United States of America.

The jet was used from 1962 to 1990 by presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan.  Johnson was sworn into office aboard the plane following Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas in 1963. Nixon flew it to Beijing in 1972 to open up diplomatic relations with China.

The plane is now on indoor display at the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in California. It’s back up twin is at Wright Patterson Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

747s and the Modern Age

In 1990 during the administration of George H. W. Bush, two new Boeing 747s replaced the aging 707s. These highly customized planes have offices, a bedroom and shower for the president, conference room, medical center, two galleys capable of serving 100, advanced communications capability, mid-air refueling, plus the ability to withstand an electromagnetic pulse.

The plane travels at 600 mph and costs about $200,000 per hour to fly.  It’s painted in the same classic blue and white livery started by JFK. Unlike the 1997 Harrison Ford movie Air Force One, the real plane does not have an escape pod.

The 4,000 square foot Air Force One is truly a “flying White House” allowing the president to fully function from the sky anywhere in the world.  For nine hours on September 11, 2001, Air Force One was George W. Bush’s flying White House in an emergency due to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Preserving History

The planes used by the president have historic value and several are on display at the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum.  The Columbine II used by Eisenhower fell into a bureaucratic snafu after its service. For decades it sat rusting away in the Arizona desert, unidentified as Columbine II. The CEO of an aircraft restoration company finally figured out the plane’s true identity and spent 8,000 hours getting it ready to fly from Arizona to Virginia for complete refurbishment. That work is ongoing, with an estimated $12 million budget to complete the restoration. It’s hoped that Columbine II will one day be on display for all to see.

The Future

Two new 747s were ordered in 2016 to replace the now-aging pair of current 747 planes.  Donald Trump gave permission to acquire the new planes from a defunct Russian airline that went bankrupt before ever taking possession of the planes.  Since then, the planes have been undergoing extensive modifications to turn them into 21^st century Air Force Ones. Due to supply chain issues, security clearance requirements for workers and other issues, the planes are very late and way over the fixed cost $3.9 billion budget set by Trump. The delivery date is unknown but may stretch to 2029.

Air Force One, hand polished before every trip, is a gleaming symbol of American power and promise wherever it flies.  If you’re ever near Dayton, Ohio or Simi Valley in California, you can step up the ramp and get a glimpse of history.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

Photo: Library of Congress

For nearly a century, the president of the United States used US naval vessels and yachts to conduct foreign affairs, entertain guests, schmooze senators, and build relationships. From 1880 to 1977 a series of ships and yachts became part of routine life for the presidents, although the one who ended these “floating White Houses” later regretted it.

Over the decades, seven ships served the president, some for only a few trips, and one that served for over 40 years.

Let’s look at these vessels and dive into their presidential history.

The first ship was used by President Chester A. Arthur named the USS Despatch. Active from 1880-1891, the Despatch took President Grover Cleveland to the dedication ceremony for the Statue of Liberty in 1886.

From 1893-1897, Cleveland and his successor William McKinley used the USS Dolphin for executive purposes.

In 1905, Theodore Roosevelt upgraded the stature of the ships by using the USS Mayflower, a 275-foot luxury ship that had originally been built for a real estate tycoon.  It had expensive details, a dinner table for 30 people and a crew of 150.  The Mayflower was subsequently used by presidents Taft, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge and Hoover.  Woodrow Wilson used the ship to woo Edith Boling Gault after his first wife Ellen died in 1914.

In 1929, Hoover decided to decommission the Mayflower as a cost cutting step at the beginning of the Great Depression.

However, in short order Hoover began using a much smaller but quite sumptuous wooden yacht named the Sequoia. Built in 1925, it was 104 feet in length and large enough to entertain up to 40 guests and 22 for dinner.  Hoover liked to use it for fishing trips, and, in a tone-deaf decision, put the Sequoia on his 1932 Christmas Cards as the Depression surged on.

His successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, used the Sequoia at the outset of his presidency and had an elevator installed to accommodate his wheelchair. Later, from 1936-1945, FDR used the USS Potomac, a steel hulled ship better suited for him than a more flammable wooden ship.

From 1945-1953, Harry Truman used both the Sequoia and the USS Williamsburg.  He liked the smaller Sequoia for his regular poker games up and down the Potomac River, and the larger Williamsburg for bigger events and longer cruises.  The USS Williamsburg was decommissioned in 1953 by Dwight Eisenhower after one short trip at the start of his presidency.

Eisenhower preferred golfing to cruising, but when John F. Kenney became president in 1961 the Sequoia once more came front and center. Kennedy, a sailor all his life, loved to get out on the water.  His last birthday party, his 46^th, was held on the Sequoia in 1963.

Lyndon Johnson replaced the elevator on Sequoia with a wet bar and used the Sequoia as a location to negotiate with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union.

Richard Nixon used Sequoia by far the most frequently, taking over 100 trips from 1969-1974.  He made his decision to resign the presidency on the Sequoia, asking the crew to turn out all the lights and playing God Bless America on the piano in the dark for 30 minutes.

Gerald Ford used Sequoia for cabinet meetings from time to time.

Ford’s successor, Jimmy Carter, had campaigned on being a Washington outsider and pledged to cut back on excessive spending.  One of his targets was the Sequoia and its $800,000 per year maintenance cost. He had it sold at auction for $286,000 in 1977.

Carter came to regret his decision to get rid of the yacht. He later said, “The people thought I was not being reverent enough to the office, that I was too much of a peanut farmer. That shows that the American people want something of an element, of an image of monarchy in the White House.”

In subsequent decades, Sequoia has been sold and re-sold multiple times, most recently in 2016 for $7.8 million.  As of 2023 it is in an enclosed maritime shop in Maryland undergoing a 5-year renovation.

After its decommissioning, the Potomac was used by a Mexican drug cartel for several years, then it was acquired by FDR’s son James Roosevelt. You can go on it at anchor in Oakland California as it’s open for tours.

While presidents had been flying since FDR in 1943, ultimately, Air Force One (official designation began in 1962) became the ride of preference for presidents, placing the presidential yacht into the quaint, yet beloved by some, portion of the history books.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

Consider the lowly penny. Tossed into piggy banks and lost in sofas, the penny doesn’t get much respect today. But over 100 years ago, one president decided to make history with the penny, and started a trend that continues today.

To get to the heart of the story, we must go back to 1865.

When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, Theodore Roosevelt was seven years old, living in his hometown of New York City.  The nation was shocked at Lincoln’s death, and his funeral extended over 13 days with a train carrying his casket to many cities so the populace could pay their respects.  New York was one of those cities, and the cortege passed Roosevelt’s home.  As documented by a photo taken that day, young Theodore watched from an upstairs window.

Thereafter, Lincoln was Theodore’s favorite president, held in high esteem for his leadership during our nation’s worst crisis.

Theodore (who hated the name Teddy) also became president following an assassination, that of William McKinley in 1901.  Theodore was an assertive president, forever changing the office and firmly putting the Executive Branch into a preeminent place in our government.

Once he secured election to the office in his own right in 1904, he began searching for ways to honor Lincoln.  Up to that time in our nation’s history, coins were minted with eagles, images of a female ‘Liberty’, Indians, Grecian Gods, and pastoral scenes.   No coin had ever borne the image of a president.

Roosevelt saw his opening. He insisted that a new penny be minted with the head of Lincoln on one side. He commissioned an artist he had patronized in New York, Victor David Brenner, to design it.  He pushed it through all the approvals, and the first Lincoln penny was struck in 1909 in time to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Victor David Brenner was determined to ‘sign’ his work, insisting that his initials, VDB, appear on the back of the penny.  People immediately noticed the large initials, and within a short time, the Secretary of the Treasury demanded the end of the production run. Over 28 million pennies had been produced.  After much debate, the artist’s issue was resolved in 1919, with his initials appearing in nearly microscopic font below the bevel of the Lincoln bust and left of center. Every penny since then has borne his initials.

Not surprisingly, Roosevelt’s decision to honor Lincoln on the penny led to many other presidential coins: the Washington Quarter in 1932, Jefferson Nickel in 1938, Franklin Roosevelt Dime in 1946, (appropriate since FDR led the March of Dimes campaigns as he was a polio victim), Kennedy Half Dollar in 1964, and the Eisenhower Dollar in 1971.

The government has minted hundreds of billions of Lincoln pennies over the past 111 years. It now costs more than a cent to mint a penny. And, due to inflation and use of credit cards, some are calling for an end to the mighty penny.

If and when that happens, we may see Lincoln appear again on a future coin. Maybe try dollar coins again?  If they use the Victor David Brenner design, I wonder if his initials will still be used?

And, what about paper currency, you ask?

The 1913 passage of the Federal Reserve Act also included an overhaul of our paper currency.  Lincoln appeared on the $5 bill the next year.  Fittingly, George Washington was first to appear on our currency, in 1869.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

Could it be true that a tiff between two wives likely saved Ulysses S. Grant’s life?

Julia Grant, Ulysses’ wife, and Mary Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife, had little respect for each other due to snubs and harsh words in the past. Just the month before, Mary coldly received Julia at a social call in Virgina and was appalled that Julia did not back out of the room and treat her like royalty.  On another day, the jealous Mary sniped at Julia saying, “I suppose you think you’ll get to the White House yourself, don’t you?”

So when the Lincolns invited the Grants to watch a show at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865, just a few days after Appomattox and the end of the Civil War, the Grants politely declined, explaining that they were set to travel out of town that  evening. No way Julia wanted to endure more time with Mary Lincoln.

Little did Grant know about John Wilkes Booth and his cabal of assassins. They had been plotting simultaneous attacks on Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward, to culminate that very night. While Booth attacked Lincoln at the theater, Lewis Powell would attack Seward, and David Atzerodt would kill Johnson.

In those days, the press regularly publicized the appearances of presidents in advance—handbills had already been printed announcing that the Lincolns and Grants were expected to attend the theater that night. With Grant at Ford’s Theater as well, Booth realized he could kill the two most visible and powerful men in the country at the same time.

The stage was set—until the Grants backed out. Their decision to decline the invitation also became public knowledge, however, and that night, as Grant’s carriage–loaded with luggage and with his family with him—moved down Pennsylvania Avenue toward Union Station, a dark rider on horseback chased them down. The rider glared at the General and rode off, only to return a few minutes later and repeat the threatening behavior.

The rider was John Wilkes Booth, exasperated and angry of losing his chance at Grant.

Meanwhile, the Lincolns still wanted company at the theater, so they invited Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara to join them for the play. A policeman, John Parker, was posted outside the door of Lincoln’s box to protect the President, but he wandered away to the saloon next door. Booth had free entry and shot Lincoln in the back of the head at close range.

Lincoln was carried across the street to a small residence, where he died of his wounds in a few hours.

After shooting Lincoln and leaping to the theater stage, Booth escaped into Virginia and was tracked for several days by 10,000 troops, detectives, and police. He was eventually caught and killed. Lewis Powell viciously attacked Secretary of State Seward with a knife. David Atzerodt lost his nerve and never approached Vice President Johnson.

Fortunately, Seward survived, although he was scarred for life on his face and neck. The surviving cabal was quickly found guilty and all hanged together on July 7, 1865 at Fort McNair in Washington DC.

In a surprising twist to this shocking, murderous plot, John Wilkes Booth’s father, Junius, had threatened to assassinate President Andrew Jackson 30 years earlier. Booth’s father wrote a letter to Jackson in 1835 saying he intended to “cut your throat whilst you are sleeping”. Jackson ignored the threat, and nothing ever came of it.

Did young John Wilkes learn his malevolent hatred from kitchen table talk with his father? We’ll never know.

What we do know is that Julia and Ulysses Grant’s decision to opt out of the theater engagement likely saved his life, allowing him to go on and become president four years later and serve two full terms in the highest office.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

Some say the Presidency, in modern times, requires a set of skills and a level of adaptability that far exceeds reasonable norms. The most powerful single job on earth is so complex, so pressure-filled, one wonders how the incumbents find ways to manage it all.

One overlooked factor might be whether they’re right-handed or left-handed. Surprisingly, seven of our last 16 presidents have been left-handed. At 44%, that’s way above the 12% average representation of lefties in the world. This is a new trend among presidents, as the first 19 presidents were right-handed.

Those seven left-handed presidents are Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Why this rise of lefties in the presidency?
Researchers who have studied the general population of right-handers vs. left-handers conclude that left – handers may be more adaptable, since from an early age they’re faced with a right-handed world that forces them to learn how to navigate, get along, and thrive. Unlike right-handers, they must adapt to using scissors and bottle openers, figure out the best place to sit at a table when dining out, find a comfortable desk position, open doors and so much more.

It’s also said that left-handers are quicker thinkers since they engage both hemispheres of the brain more often than right-handers. It’s even said they’re more creative thinkers as well. These adaptable left-handed presidents can only swear on a bible, salute the flag, and shake hands with their right hands.

James Garfield was ambidextrous, meaning he could write with either hand equally well. It’s said that he could write Latin with his right and Greek with his left at the same time.

Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan were natural lefties who were forced at an early age to write use their right hand instead, since for hundreds of years myths and superstitions about the evils of being left- handed had persuaded families to turn left-handed children into right-handers.

Lest you think this trend is only for those who win the office, all these recent candidates for president were also left – handed: John McCain, Al Gore, Bob Dole (due to war injury), and Ross Perot.

Whenever a president signs a bill, his writing hand style is obvious. In modern times, presidents use multiple pens to carefully sign these signature bills, surrounded by important politicians and players who supported the passing of the legislation. It’s believed that Lyndon B. Johnson holds the record, using 72 pens to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964, handing out the pens he used to those crowded around him, including Dr. Martin Luther King.

Its hard to say if this recent trend is predictive one way or the other. With the next presidential election coming up in 2024, it will be interesting to see if any left-handed candidates appear on the final ballot. If they do, clue in on their adaptability. It just may reveal a critical factor to the benefit of us all.

One of the first things a new president must decide has nothing to do with taking oaths, signing orders, or approving nominees for office.  In truth, they make this decision before becoming president. And it’s of extreme importance to their presidency.

It’s choosing their Secret Service code name!

Since Harry Truman first selected General as his code name in the late 1940’s, presidential nominees, who get Secret Service protection, must pick a ‘handle’ from a pre-screened list created by The White House Communications Agency. The code names are designed to be short, concise, and easy to understand over a radio. We’ve all seen movies where an agent speaks into a microphone and says, for example, ‘General is on the move’.   That actually happens, and It’s considered an integral part of successfully protecting the president.

The particular handle a president chooses may fit a unique aspect of themselves, be an aspiration, make a statement, or it’s simple and straightforward.

Joe Biden decided to keep his code name from his days as Vice President:  Celtic.  It reflects his Irish ancestry.

Some are obvious. You wouldn’t be surprised that Jimmy Carter selected Deacon, or that Donald Trump picked Mogul.

Some make a statement, such as Barack Obama’s Renegade or W. Bush’s Trailblazer.

Others are simple and straightforward, like Bill Clinton’s Eagle, John F. Kennedy’s Lancer, Richard Nixon’s Searchlight, H.W. Bush’s Timberwolf, Gerald Ford’s Passkey, and Lyndon Johnson’s Volunteer.

Some seem to fit them to a tee:  Ronald Reagan chose Rawhide, and Dwight Eisenhower used Scorecard in retirement to reflect his passion for golfing.

But the 32 presidents who preceded Truman never had a code name.  I think we need to fill that gap with some fun ideas about what might have been for some of these presidents. Here goes:

George Washington:  Founder, of course.

Thomas Jefferson:  Author, naturally, for the Declaration of Independence as well as for the Charter of the University of Virginia.

John Quincy Adams:  Diplomat, honoring his service as Ambassador to Russia and his behind-the-scenes authorship of the Monroe Doctrine as Secretary of State.

Andrew Jackson: Dueler, since he was involved in over 100 duels, in one of which he was wounded and carried the bullet in his chest the remaining 39 years of his life.

James Buchanan:  Bachelor, the only one among the 46 presidents.

Abraham Lincoln:  Orator, given his eloquent speeches at his inaugurations and the Gettysburg Address.

Andrew Johnson: Tailor, his apprentice skill learned as a young man in Tennessee.

U.S. Grant:  Rider, because he was an outstanding horseman, riding dangerous missions in the Mexican War.

Rutherford Hayes: Lemonade, the only drink served at the White House during his term.

Chester Arthur:  Whiskers, noting his fashion statement of the 1880’s of very long sideburns.

Grover Cleveland: Hangman, one of the duties of a pre-presidency occupation in Erie County New York.

Theodore Roosevelt:  Rough Rider, recalling his inspired charge up San Juan Hill in 1898.

William Howard Taft: Big Bill, acknowledging his girth.

Woodrow Wilson: Dancer, since he was known to be an excellent dancer in his off hours.

Warren Harding:  Chips, reflecting his many poker games held at the White House.

Calvin Coolidge: Hat, noting his fondness to don Indian headdresses, cowboy hats, etc. for photo ops.

Herbert Hoover:  Miner, for his geology degree from Stanford and later occupation in Australia.

Franklin Roosevelt: Mariner, for his love of sailing, being Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and his lifelong model ship hobby.

Since protection is the goal of the Secret Service, Vice Presidents, First Ladies, presidential children, and significant family members all choose code names as well.  Even visiting dignitaries sometimes are assigned a code name.  Queen Elizabeth’s code when visiting the US is Kittyhawk.  Frank Sinatra’s was Napoleon, and Pope John Paul II was Halo.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

America has had an ‘on again/off again’ relationship with alcohol, and our presidents have been no different. In our 235-year history, with 46 men holding the office, a significant percentage of presidents (28%) did not drink at all or did rarely. In some cases, they were recovering alcoholics who fought to stay sober; in others, they stayed sober due to widespread cultural factors such as the temperance movement in the mid-19^th century.

5 of our last 8 presidents have been teetotalers, including current president Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump. George W. Bush, while not identifying as an alcoholic, readily admits he drank too much until age 40, when he stopped.  Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter drank rarely, mostly for occasional ceremonial events.

The most famous alcoholic president was U. S. Grant. While serving in remote army locations in the 1840’s and 1850’s he drank to excess out of boredom and loneliness.  He resigned his commission in 1854 due to excessive drinking.  His career was revived in the Civil War 7 years later, and while he conspicuously avoided drinking, his reputation was regularly questioned by many. His commander in chief, Abraham Lincoln, overlooked it and rewarded him for his successes on the battlefield.

These days, it’s scary to imagine a president unable to perform his duties due to overindulging, but it has happened. History tells us that Franklin Pierce’s raging alcoholism was partly due to losing all three sons in their childhood, the last one just three weeks before his inauguration. His wife was a big temperance supporter and his drinking forced them to become estranged. Upon leaving the White House, he said “there’s nothing left to do but get drunk”.

Andrew Johnson showed up drunk at President Lincoln’s second inaugural to take his oath as Vice President. Yet in 6 weeks he became president following Lincoln’s assassination. In the closing days of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon apparently drank heavily to relieve his grief over losing his presidency.

For those presidents who did drink, they had their favorites. All the Founding Fathers drank, with hard cider, wine and rum being the most common. After his presidency, George Washington operated a distillery on Mt. Vernon, producing up to 11,000 gallons for commercial sale in 1799 the year of his death.

Grover Cleveland loved his beer, up to a gallon a day.  His overweight shape was likely one of the first presidential beer guts.

Harry Truman regularly participated in poker games and enjoyed bourbon while playing. He liked it so much he started each day with a shot of Old Granddad.

Being a Californian, Ronald Reagan’s favorite was an Orange Blossom, which is a combination of orange juice, gin, and vermouth.   John F. Kennedy enjoyed a Bloody Mary from time to time.

Two of our president’s banned drinking in the White House. James K. Polk (during the temperance movement) and Rutherford B. Hayes. Their wives were instrumental in this choice, and Hayes’ wife Lucy was widely known as Lemonade Lucy for the only drink she served.  (Official Washington was likely happy that Hayes only served one term.)  Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore, in acceptance of the temperance movement, were also teetotalers.

The passage of the 18^th Amendment in 1920, commonly called Prohibition, ushered in a period of change for the White House.  Warren Harding decided to keep drinking his whiskey, followed by Calvin Coolidge, who rarely drank. Herbert Hoover, last of the Prohibition presidents, freely drank his favorite martinis despite the law.

Calvin Coolidge rarely drank in compliance with the times.  When the 21^st Amendment passed in 1933 ending Prohibition, Franklin Roosevelt and later presidents could drink when and how they pleased.

Franklin Roosevelt drank martinis and made a regular event at the White House out of the 5 o’clock happy hour, personally mixing the drinks for his guests.   His cousin Theodore drank mint juleps, which he may have picked up from his mother Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt, who grew up in Roswell Georgia.

The public sometimes comes to know the president’s favorite drink, and the drink is named for them.  There was McKinley’s Delight (rye and absinthe), and Martin Van Buren’s Schiedam (whiskey and red wine).

In summary, presidential drinking ebbs and flows with the times, and the recent trend, interestingly enough, is toward teetotalers.

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

January brings New Year’s resolutions for many, particularly to exercise more, lose weight and get fit. Presidents have often used sports to help them manage stress, fuel their competitive instincts, and in one noted case, lose weight.

Some presidents had very successful sports experiences early in life. Gerald Ford played Center on two University of Michigan national championship teams and had contracts offered from multiple NFL teams. Ford declined those offers to attend Yale Law School.   Barack Obama, although not a starter, was on his Punahou high school Hawaiian state champion basketball team in 1979.

However, this article will be devoted to the sports they played while in office.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) often sparred with a boxing partner while in office. That is until he took a punch in the eye from a much younger army captain, suffering a detached retina that left his vision blurry for the rest of his life. After that, he took up jiu jitsu instead.

William Howard Taft (1909-1913) was the first president to take up golf. In fact, he golfed so often that his mentor, Theodore Roosevelt, once urged him to play less, since “golf is perceived as an elitist extravagance.”

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) After the Secret Service recommended that he stop horseback riding, Coolidge had a mechanical horse installed at the White House for exercise purposes. Invented by cereal magnate John H. Kellogg, Calvin rode that horse three times a day, only quitting once the mocking and teasing wore him down.

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) Shortly after his inauguration, Hoover took up his doctor’s recommendation to exercise more often to reduce stress and lose weight. The doctor helped him create a wholly new game that eventually became known as Hooverball. The game involved teams of 5 players using a 6-pound medicine ball. Players would hurl the heavy ball over an eight-foot net, catch it, and toss it back over.

Hoover played this game six days a week outdoors early in the morning.  Senators, cabinet members, supreme court justices, and staff would play for 30 minutes.  Hooverball is the only sport named for a president and is still played competitively each summer at his boyhood home and museum at West Branch Iowa. Oh, and he lost 20 pounds too!

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) needed a swimming pool to exercise his polio-ravaged body. He had a 50-foot indoor pool built at the White House that he used regularly.

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) had a big passion for golf.  In 1954 he had a 3,000 square foot putting green installed on the grounds of the White House.  Ike used it almost daily to hone his game. He often wore his golf spikes into the oval office, leaving pock marks on the floor.  His successor, John F. Kennedy was astonished to see those golf spike marks and called Ike the “Duffer in Chief”.

Richard Nixon (1969-1974) had a one lane bowling alley installed at the White House and used it frequently.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) loved horseback riding to relax. He frequently rode at his ‘western white house’ ranch above Santa Barbara California. Queen Elizabeth, George H.W. Bush and others accompanied him on his rides. He always had a specially trained Secret Service agent ride along.

George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) had a regulation size horseshoe pit built in 1989 and played just about anyone who came along when he had the time to play.  He also rebuilt the putting green at the White House in 1991 so he could work on his short game. Golf was in his blood as his grandfather, George Herbert Walker, was president of the US Golf Association and founder of the Walker Cup.

George W. Bush (2001-2009) also was a very good golfer but stopped playing after September 11, 2001. He took up mountain biking instead, primarily at his Texas ranch.

Barack Obama (2009-2017) had the tennis court striped for basketball and used a movable hoop for pickup games.

Donald Trump (2017-2021) loved golf so much he invested in golf courses and played hundreds of rounds at his clubs while in office.

Since Eisenhower in the early 1950’s, most presidents have played golf.  Some rounds were just for fun and exercise, but others were designed to have extended time with a person they wished to persuade to their cause.

Only Jimmy Carter did not indulge in golf, preferring jogging and fly fishing instead.

What about tennis, you ask?  While the White House has had tennis courts for over a century, most presidents didn’t play much.  However, they did hold celebrity charity tennis tournaments with professionals and Hollywood types.

Playing sports and games is a great way for the president to burn off steam, reduce stress, and yes, even lose weight.  Play on!

Interested in learning more about the presidents? Visit the Carolyn & James Millar Presidential Gallery on the upper level of the Booth Western Art Museum. The gallery features original letters and photographs of every U.S. president. Learn more at www.boothmuseum.org.

For this writer, having spent over 40 years deep-diving into a presidential hobby, meeting a president was a peak experience.

It proved to be a day of the most unusual events.

About 14 years ago, I was set to fly from Atlanta to San Francisco for business. It was going to be unusual in that I was in first class, due to the presence of the 6’5” owner of the business I worked for preferring that class vs. coach. We were all seated and expecting to push back when Jimmy Carter and his Secret Service agent entered and sat in the two seats in front of us!

As you may know, that flight is roughly five hours in length, and my head was filling with thoughts of how I might introduce myself to the president. Suddenly, the agent, who was on the aisle, and Jimmy popped up and exited the plane.

A moment later, the pilot announced there was a technical problem and we were going to switch planes. Delta just happened to have an identical plane a few gates down the concourse. We were asked to deplane and move to the other gate and to use the same seats as our original ones.

The same boarding sequence happened once again. Everyone got settled, then the president and the agent returned. However, the president didn’t sit down. Instead, he turned to me in the seats behind his, flashed his famous smile, stuck out his hand and said, “I’m Jimmy Carter, what’s your name?” I popped up to shake his hand and said, “Nice to meet you Mr. President, I’m Chris Binkert.”

Then he was gone, moving down the aisles to meet and greet everyone on the plane. It took about 20 minutes to do this, but no one was unhappy with the delay. Apparently, he always did this when flying, so everyone could get their chance to meet him and allow him to take the flight in relative peace.

I was seated on the aisle, and Jimmy was seated by the window. Therefore, I was able to peek between the seats and observe him during the flight. Not much to report, other than he read The Economist at length.

Upon landing, he and his agent were the first off the plane and gone, leaving me with a first-class experience with the only president I ever met.

Jimmy Carter’s recent passing at age 100 has flooded my mind with this chance opportunity. It also caused me to re-examine his life and accomplishments once more.

Early Days

Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital, on October 1, 1924.  He lived in Archery Georgia, three miles outside the town of Plains, population 400.  His home was a Sears, Roebuck ‘kit house’ without running water or electricity until he was 11 years old.

His playmates were nearly all Black kids, most of whose parents worked on his father Earl Carter’s farm.  His father called his first born son Hot Shot. Jimmy called him Sir.  Jimmy worshipped his father and strove to always meet his very demanding expectations.  Unfortunately, his father never showed him much outward love, a burden Jimmy would later lament in poems.

Jimmy’s mother, Lillian, was a nurse. Her breezy and outspoken personality later made her a fixture in the media during Carter’s presidency.

Jimmy attended school in Plains, graduating from Plains High School. He attended a local community college in Americus, and later Georgia Tech in Atlanta before winning an appointment to the US Naval Academy in 1943.

He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946 and sped home to Plains to marry Rosalynn Smith that same year, their first of 77 years together.

He entered the submarine service and served on multiple ships in the Atlantic and Pacific regions.  In 1952, he began an association with legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover, father of the country’s initial nuclear submarine force.

Jimmy’s father Earl passed away in 1953 from pancreatic cancer, causing Jimmy to resign his commission and return to Plains to run the family’s peanut business.  Rosalynn was devastated by his decision, and thought moving back to Plains was a “giant step backwards”.

In the late 1950s Jimmy began his political career, methodically rising from local offices to governor from 1971-1975, and then to the pinnacle office of president in 1976, defeating incumbent Gerald Ford.

His Presidency

His achievements in office were substantive, leading some of his biographers to claim that his presidency is underrated and likely to improve over time, much like Harry Truman, Jimmy’s favorite president.

Foreign Policy

Carter’s best-known achievement in foreign policy surely is the Camp David Accords, where Jimmy spent 13 days brokering and enabling an enduring peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, one that recast the dynamics of the Middle East ever since.

In foreign affairs he also officially recognized China, establishing ongoing diplomatic relations. Controversially, he agreed to return the Panama Canal to Panama, which in his mind was strategically critical to ensure its ongoing peaceful operation in our interests.

Jimmy Carter was the first president to put human rights at the center of his foreign policy, calling out rogue states and harsh practices as a matter of the normal course of diplomatic relations.  He put an exclamation mark on that policy by withdrawing the USA from the 1980 Olympics held in the Soviet Union due to the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

Domestic Policy

On the domestic front, he was well ahead of his time in putting the environment on the table and creating the Department of Energy in 1979 to give focus and heft to what he perceived as an existential threat to the world. He added solar panels to the roof of the West Wing to visually support the use of alternative energy sources.

He approved 10 new national parks and set aside hundreds of millions of acres of land for preservation, more than any other president by far.

If you have flown anytime since the 1980’s you benefitted from Carter’s deregulation of the airline industry, allowing for more competition and removing the federal government from setting fares and routes.

On the other hand, the 444 day Iran hostage crisis, a failed hostage rescue attempt, high inflation, a poorly received “malaise” speech on conserving energy and, finally, the challenge from Ronald Reagan in 1980 proved impossible for him to earn a second term. He carried only 6 states in the 1980 election.

That said, he gets credit for making decisions in the best interest of the country despite likely blowback at the next election.  His appointment of Paul Volcker as the head of the Federal Reserve in 1979 was such a decision.

Volcker’s solution to reduce high inflation (11%) was to raise interest rates to punishing levels, a position well known to Carter in advance. Knowing that such painful rates would hurt him at the polls in 1980, he went ahead with the appointment.  Volcker did get rates down significantly to 3%, but only after Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Carter also appointed many persons of color and women to the federal bench, far more than any other president up to that time.

Rosalynn

It’s hard to think about Jimmy without also considering Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years.

Rosalynn was a determined, and some say, shrewd politician in her own right.  She campaigned hard for Jimmy in the 1976 national election, and broke tradition when she exited the limo to walk hand in hand with Jimmy and youngest daughter Amy down Pennsylvania Avenue after the swearing in ceremony.

Jimmy valued her opinion and considered her a “full partner” in every aspect of their lives.  Knowing her intense interests, he allowed her to sit in on cabinet meetings as an observer. This too was unprecedented.  She pushed hard for her own agenda, principally for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and various efforts to promote better mental health in the country. Rosalynn passed away in 2023 at the age of 96.

Post Presidency

Jimmy Carter spent 43 years, after leaving office in 1981, creating a modern template for a successful and engaged post-presidency. From building Habitat for Humanity homes, to supervising elections in far-off democracies, to nearly extinguishing deadly Guinea worm disease in Africa, Jimmy Carter, via his personal service and The Carter Center, put forward a humble yet determined effort to make a difference in the world by artfully using “The Presidency” as his calling card and platform of influence.  He wrote books to pay the bills, declining to serve on corporate boards or giving speeches for millions of dollars.

Ever in full partnership with Rosalynn, Jimmy engaged in most of these efforts with her by his side, except for book writing.  Early on, they were both writing and decided to ‘help edit each other’s work’.  That only led to arguments, and they never tried that again! Jimmy ended up writing more books than any other modern president.

Carter knew full well that he couldn’t have done all this without the support of many.

One symbol of his gratitude was his decision to pose for a photo with all his Secret Service Agents immediately after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, his way of recognizing their service and helping him in his post presidency.

His Secret Service code name was Deacon, in recognition of his lifelong commitment to his faith community. He regularly taught Sunday School at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains for decades.

Carter also believed in reconciliation.  Carrying grudges was not his style.  For example, Jimmy became very close friends with Gerald Ford, the man he defeated in the election of 1976.  In the heat of the election, they had frequently dumped harsh, personal attacks on each other.   Jimmy started the reconciliation process with Ford in the first words of his inaugural address, thanking Ford for his service and “healing our land.”   They became very close friends, and Jimmy gave the eulogy at Ford’s funeral in 2007.

Jimmy believed that “faith in something is an inducement not to dormancy but to action.”  As his life demonstrated, he took this belief with him every day, trying to take actions to better humanity as he found it.

It’s easy to find out more about Jimmy Carter by visiting his Library and Museum in Atlanta, or his National Historical Park in Plains. It’s worth your time.

Rest in peace, Mr. President. I consider it a privilege to have met you once on a plane ride.